Fluid treating apparatus



Jan, 16, 1945., KUHN 7 2,367,408

FLUID TREATING APPARATUS 0 Original Filed Sept. 20, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet1 1 IN ENTO 6502s: Kay v Jane 16, 1945. e. KUHN 2,367,408

FLUID TREATING APPARATUS Original Fil ed Sept. 20, 1937 s Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR aka/w:- K0

ATTORNEY Jan. 16, 1945. G. KUHN FLUID TREATING APPARATUS Original FiledSept. 20, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 5 3 8 W 6 a 7 M Q a i ww r a 9 i .1114:lhl I m a W a Ii. A a" Patented Jan. 16, 1945 FLUID TREATING APPARATUSGeorge Kuhn, Silver Spring, Md., assignor to General Motors Corporation,Dayton, Ohio, a

corporation of Delaware Original application September 20, 193.7, SerialDivided and this application March 7, 1942, Serial No. 433,819

6 Claims.

This invention relates to the washing and cleaning of fabrics andarticles and more particularly pertains to power driven washing andcleaning machines.

The invention provides a washing and cleaning machine which operates toeffect a rapid and thorough cleaning or washing of the articles withoutvibration or the production of unbalanced forces. The operationsperformed by the machine include circulation of the articles in thewashing fluid, scrubbing and shaking of the articles, agitating andflexing of the fabric of.

the articles and rapidly pulsating the fluid through the fabric.

This application is a division of application Serial No. 164,820, filedSeptember 20, 1937, now Patent No. 2,275,444.

The features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description when considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings, forming a part thereof,ancl in which:

Fig. l. is a vertical sectional view of a washing machine embodying theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of part of the machine taken on line2-2 of Fig. i;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view, similar to Fig. 1, showing anotherform of washing machine;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line il-t of Fig. 3;

i Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. l, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line tt of Fig. 2.

Like characters of reference refer to the same or similar partsthroughout the several views.

Referring to Figs. l and 2 oi the drawings, reference characterdesignates the tub of the washing machine which is preferablycylindrical in form with. a closed bottom it and an opening 52 at thetop which is closed by a hinged cover 13. Th tub is supported on asuitable pedestal indicated M. The bottom of the tub has a raisedcentre-i portion E5 and a drain it connects with the lowermost part ofthe bottom 5 i. Y

The fluid circulating or propelling means is axially disposed in the tubis and, in general, comprises a pulsator consisting of a hollow tubularmember such as a cylinder ll and an elemerit such as a piston is, and afluid propelling and directing piston skirt as. The cylinder it is ofmetal and has a closed upper end and an open lower end around the outerperiphery of which is a ring it of rubber or other suitable material.The cylinder is secured on the upper end of a reciprocable shaft 26which passes through the upper end of the cylinder and the lower end ofthe cylinder is submerged so longas the water or other fluid t2is-maintained at sub stantially thelevel shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The

inner and outer walls of the cylinder are disposed parallel to thedirection of motion of thecylinder and during normal operation thecylinder is neither completely submerged nor entirely out of the fluidso that splashing is prevented. The pulsator piston 18 is a cylindricalmetallic member shaped similarly to the cylinder I! but is ofsufliciently smaller diameter to provide an annular opening 91 ofsubstantial flow area between the cylinder and piston through which thefluid readily may flow. The piston is axially disposed with respect tothe cylinder and is mounted on a fitting 23. preferably a die casting,which is fixed to the upper end of a piston sleeve 24 through' whichshaft Zl passes and upon which the sleeve bears at its upper end. Shaft2! passes in a smooth running fit through a collar 25 carried by theupper closed end of the piston l8. The fluid propelling and directingskirt l 9 has an outer surface which curves gradually outwardly anddownwardly and has a metallic upper part and a flexible fin 26 which ispreferably rubber but may be of other suitable flexible material,secured to the upper part. The upper end of the skirt i9 is secured tothe fitting 23 and the-skirt is axially disposed with respect to thepiston is This horizontal skirt is effective for the purpose because theopposing streams of fluid from the upwardly moving skirt and from thcylinder will meet and be thrown radially outwardly. Shaft 2i and sleeveis extend through an opening in the bottom il of'the'tub to theoperating mechanism disposed beneath the tub. To prevent leakage offluid through this opening and to eliminate the necessity of a'stufiingbox, upper and lower bellows 2": and 28 of rubber or other fluid-proofflexible material are used. The upper end of the upper bellows 27 issecured by means of a metallic ring 2% or the like in fluid pressuretight relationship to shaft 2i at a point which will not interfere withthe movement of the piston l8, and the lower end is similarly fixed tothe upper portion of fitting 23. The upper portion of bellows 28 is alsosimilarly fixed to the lower end of fitting 23 and the lower end isfixed to a neck 3% on the operating mecha nism housing 3i through whichthe sleeve 26 and shaft it pass. A nut 32 threaded on neck 3t compressespacking material against the bottom ii of the tub which is pressedagainst the upper part of the housing ti thereby preventing leakage ifluid at this point. A plurality of air vents 33 pass through fitting 23next to sleeve 24 to connect the chambers formed by the upper and lowerbellows 21 and 28 to relieve air pressure and vacuum produced duringoperation. The fitting 23 is also provided with a plurality of watervents 34 next to the walls of the pulsator piston to relieve waterpressure in the upper portion of the pulsator piston durin operation. Inplace of the lower bellow 28, a diaphragm, of rubber or other suitablematerial, of the type disclosed in my copending application Serial No.106,080, filed October 17, 1936, may be used.

The fluid circulating or propelling meansis driven by an electric motor36 through mechanism which is mechanically balanced and the parts ofwhich move with complete symmetry of motion during all phases of theoperative cycle. A belt 31 runs over a small driving pulley 3! on theshaft of the motor and a large driven pulley l! which runs freely on oneend of an eccentric shaft 40. Pulley 39 has an annular friction surface4| on one face thereof which engages a cooperative friction surface 42on one face of a disc 42 which is fixed to eccentric shaft 40 by a setscrew 44. Pulley 28 and disc 43 are'normally disengaged due to theaction of a coil spring 45 on eccentric shaft 40 positioned within arecess in the hub of pulley 18. This pulley-disc arrangement constitutesa friction clutch which may be operated from the top of the machine; Inthe form shown, a handcrank 46 at the top of the tub i operates avertically disposed rod 41 at the side of the .tub, the lower end ofwhich operates a link 48 which is pivotally connected at one end to ashaft 49 disposed in axial alignment with eccentric shaft 40 and withits other end I in a socket of the pulley II. A coil biasing spring illextending betweena pin on the frame of the machine and a properlylocated arm on link 4!, retains the clutch in engagement after it hasbeen engaged.

The eccentric shaft 40 has bearings II and 54 in the sides of thehousing ll and has keyed thereto within the housing, eccentrics I! and54 having laterally extending, abutting hub portions 59. The eccentricsare fixed to the shaft 40 in such manner that their maximum points ofeccentricity are diametrically opposed. Eccentric 51 has a strap 60which carries a connecting rod 6| extending upwardly from strap 80 andshaft 40 and which is connected at its upper end through a wrist pin 62to an extension I! fixed to sleeve 24 upon which the pulsator piston I!and'the skirt is are mounted. Eccentric 50 has a strap 63 which carriesa connecting rod 04 extending downwardly from the strap 63 and shaft 40and which is connected at its lower end through a wrist pin 65 to thelower end of a yoke 88 of rectangular configuration which straddlesshaft 40 and is connected at its upper end to the lower end of rod 2!upon which pulsator cylinder I1 is mounted. The abutting hubs 59 of theeccentrics bear in a vertically split block 61, Fig. 6, havingoppositely disposed recesses which receive guides it which extendvertically along the inner side walls of the-yoke l6. eccentric 58causes pulsator cylinder II to vertically reciprocate in the tub l0 andeccentric 51 causes pulsator piston is and skirt II also to verticallyreciprocate in the tub but in directions opposite to the direction ofmovement-of the cylinder H. The strokes of the piston and cylinder aresuch that the piston moves into the cylinder as far as is practicallypossible to provide the maximum displacement. The several parts are soproportioned that the weight of the cylinder I1 and the partsreciprocating with it are equal to the total weight of the piston i8 andskirt II and the parts reciprocating with them. The "opposed"relationship of the connecting rods 4| and 64, that is. the arrangementof the operating mechanism so that connecting rod 4| extends above andis connected to sleeve 24 above a horizontal plane passing through theaxis of eccentric shaft 40, and so that connecting rod 84 extends belowand is connected to shaft 2i, in effect below such plane results inabsolute symmetry of motion through all phases of the operative cycle ofthe oppositely reciprocating parts and the parts connected to and movingwith them with complete mechanical balance being obtained and withresultant freedom from vibration. It will be understood that completesymmetry of motion would not be obtained if both of the connecting rodsti and 04 extended in the same direction, that is, if they were bothconnected to the respective parts which they operate at the same side,either above or below, of a horizontal plane passing through the axis ofeccentric shaft 40. ,Also since the cylinder H, the piston II and theskirt I! are disposed and operate, in alignment with the axis of shaft2!, and the eccentrics are located and operate equidistantly from saidaxis and also operate in "opposed" relationship as previously mentioned,no unbalanced couples or forces will be produced during operation. 80arranged, or similarly arranged, the fluid circulating or propellingmeans and its operative mechanism is in absolute mechanical balance, sothat no'vibration results which originates in a mechanical source.Complete hydraulic balance is also obtained, due to the fact that thepulsator cylinder and piston are proportioned to perform the same amountof work on the fluid in the tub on each stroke as the skirt performs,and since this work is done in opposite directions and in alignment, nounbalanced forces result. It will be appreciated that mechanical andhydraulic balance has been emphasized herein because these 1 factorshave not presented themselves as probdisclosed for actuating the fluidpropelling means With this arrangement,

is not limited in its application to fluid treating machines but iscapable of a wide variety of uses.

The pulsator piston and cylinder and the skirt I! are rapidlyreciprocated with relatively short strokes. The movement of the membersI I, II and II should be materially faster than it is possible for thearticles being treated to follow such movement. Good results areobtained with a speed of the eccentric shaft of 500 R. P. M. withstrokes of the reciprocating elements of 1% in. to 1% in., butsatisfactory results will be obtained at speeds between 400 and 650 R.P. M. with the same stroke. The stroke in the form of the inventionshown in Figs. 1 and 2 may be varied between 1 in. and 1% in. withsatisfactory results.

During operation, on the upstroke of the cylinder l1 and the downstrokeof the piston ll, fluid is sucked into the cylinder from all directionswhich'draws the articles in the upper portion of the fluid radiallyinwardly toward the cylinder. At the same time, the skirt II has moveddownwardly and has forced fluid from below theskirt radially outwardlyalong the bottom of the tub. n the 'downstroke of the cylinder and theupstroke of the piston, fluid is expelled from the cylinder in adownward direction parallel to the wall of the cylinder through theannular opening .81 and against the upwardly moving, outwardly anddownwardly curving surface of the skirt H! which deflects the fluiddownwardly and radially outwardly in the lower portion of the tub, withgradually increasing velocity as it moves over the skirt. On eachupstroke of the skirt l9 fluid is forced outwardly and downwardlythereof due to the action of the upper surface of the skirt, and fluidis also drawn under the skirt and is expelled on the downstroke aspreviously described, along the bottom of the tub. Due to theflexibility and downward inclination of the fln 26 on the skirt I 9, itpumps fluid toward the bottom of the tub in the upper portion of itsdownward stroke, while in the lower portion of its downward strokeit-flattens out due to the radial flow of water from under the skirt isthus allowing free escape of the fluid from under the skirt. The use ofthe fin also makes it possible to bring the skirt almost into contactwith the bottom of the tub at the end of its downstroke without dangerof injury to one who might put his hand under it, whereby it functionsas a safety feature. With rapid reciprocation of these elements ll, i8and iii, the fluid is subjected to a series of unidirectional,intermittent jerks or pushes which result in the fluid and the articlestherein being continuallyinoved in unidirectional circulatory pathsabout these elements in directions radially outwardly along the bottomof the tub, upwardly 'along the wall thereof, radially inwardly at theupper portion of the body of fluid and downwardly along the cylinder I!and piston l8 as indicated by the direction-of-flow arrows in Fig. 1.These short, fast fluid jerks, pushes, or squirts originate at the openedge of the pulsator cylinder and at the edge of the skirt and set up aseries of rapid pulsations in the fluid which spread throughout the bodyof the fluid and result in the pulsing or forcing of the fluid throughthe fabric of articles being treated. They also cause rapid shaking andflexing of the articles being treated with consequent scrubbing due tothe rubbing of the articles on one another and rubbing of parts of eacharticle on other parts thereof in the active zones adjacent the openlower end of the pulsator cylinder l1. and at the lower edge of theskirt l9. As the articles move into the aforesaid active zones, the endof an article first coming under the influence of the zone adjacent thepulsator cylinder is vigorously shaken, scrubbed and jerked andgradually fed downwardly. These jerks spread through the article so thatits other portions and other end are liberated from the other articleswhich have not yet entered said zone, thus untangling the article. Atthe beginning of the fluid treating operation, the action of thepulsator on the fluid heretofore described, breaks up bubbles of air inarticles such as clothes and the like, which if left unbroken wouldcause the articles to float on the top of the fluid, and pushes thearticles under the surface of the fluid. The scrubbing action producedby the machine, results primarily from the vigorous flexing and shakingof the articles as previously described during the circulatory movement.

As an illustrative example, but without limiting effect, a washingmachine embodying the form of the invention heretofore described andhaving the dimensions set forth, when operated at speeds between 450 and500 R. P. M. with a full load of eight pounds of clothes, completed thewash in ten minutes without previous soaking of the clothes. Pulsatorcylinder4 in. in diameter and 7 in. in axial length. Pulsator piston-4%in. in diameter and 6 in. in axial length to the piston skirt. Pistonskirt without fln6 /2 in. bottom diameter and 2% in. axial length. Finon skirt- 8% in. in its outermost d ameter. Mechanism stroke-1% in.clothes, the washing time would be less than ten minutes. Actual testswith this machine have resulted in washings at least 33 faster than thewashing time required by conventional washing machines now on the marketin a ten minute washing test, with 20% less wear on the washed clothes,measured by the amount of lint collected after two hours of continuouswashing.

The conventional worm and gear wringer drive, driven by a belt from theloose pulley 39 may be used if desired. However, the form of wringerdrive disclosed in Fig. 1 eliminates the necessity for the gear, worm,bearings and an oil tight housing required for such conventional driveand thereby effects considerable saving in manufacture. As shown, thewringer is driven from loose pulley 39 by a belt 10 which is driven by asmall pulley 1| fixed to the loose pulley 39, the belt 10 driving arelatively large pulley 12 which is horizontally positioned and is fixedto the end of the wringer drive shaft I3 disposed in ahousing M. Abevelled gear on the upper end of the drive shaft 13 meshes with thebevelled gear on the shaft of the lower wringer roll. at the top of thetub I 0 is provided with the usual drain board 16. A spring-pressedpulley 11 engages the belt 10 to prevent it from running off the pulleysH and 12. With this arrangement, the proper speed for the' wringer isobtained through the speed reduction resulting from the use of the loosepulley 39 which is used to drive the machine mechanism and the smallpulley 1| flxed thereto. It will be appreciated that the belt wringerdrive is possible only because of the useof the loose pulley 39 in themechanism for driving the fluid circulating or propelling means. It isbelieved this form of wringer drive has not been used before.

In the form of the invention disclosed in Figs.

3 and 4, the arrangement of the fluid circulating or propelling means isthe same as the other form shown in Fig. 1, excepting that the pulsatorcylinder 80 is stationary and the eccentric 58 and connecting rod drivea vertically reciprocable counterweight 8! to obtain the same mechanicalbalance obtained in the other form. Cylinder B0 is mounted upon theupper end of shaft 82 which is fixed at its lower end to a cross bar 83against the curved upper surface of the skirt IS.

The sizes of the pulsator cylinder and piston and the skirt I9 are soproportioned that the two actions just described neutralize each otherthereby producinghydraulic balance. On the downstroke, fluid is suckedinto the cylinder from all directions so that no hydraulic un- Withprevious soaking of the The wringer 15 mounted a balance results. Alsoon the downstroke, the skirt I9 ejects fluid radially therefrom alongthe bottom of the tub which also results in no hydraulic unbalance. Inthis form of the invention, as in the other form, both mechanical andhydraulic balance are maintained at all times. To provide the sameflu'id displacement per stroke and the same downward speed of the fluidejected from the cylinder as in the other embodiment shown in Fig. l,the cross-sectional area of piston I8 should be twice that of the pistonin Fig. l and the area of the cylinder 80 should be willciently great sothat the flow area of the annular clearance 91 between the piston andthe cylinder will be the same as in Fig. 1. This follows from the factthat in this embodiment the stroke of the fluid circulating andpropelling means is onehalf of that in Fig, 1, due to the fact that thecylinder 80 is stationary. For example, if the piston of. Fig. 1 is 2%in. in diameter and the cylinder 4 in. in diameter, the piston in Fig. 3should be approximately 3% in. in diameter and the cylinder 4% in. indiameter. Otherwise, the proportions of the several parts are the sameas in the other form, and the rmults obtained are the same as describedin connection with the other form, including the undirectionalcirculatory movement of the fluid and the articles being treated and thewashing action produced which comprises pulsating of the fluid throughthe fabric of the articles, the flexing and shaking of the articleswhich produces rubbing contact of the articles as previously describedwith consequent scrubbing of the articles on themselves, together withthe separating and untangling of the articles resulting from the pullingforces produced by the series of short fast fluid jerks produced by theaction of the pulsator cylinder and the piston. During the first fewstrokes of the fluid circulating or propelling means in both formsdisclosed, the air is knocked out of the cylinder, after which theaction is entirely hydraulic.

Variations in' the rate of speed of the eccentric shaft and consequentvariations in the rate at which the fluid propelling and directing meansreciprocates may be readily accomplished by any suitable means, such forexample, as a belt drive which will provide speed variations between themotor 36 and the loose pulley 39.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be madein the form, location, relative arrangement and the materials of theseveral parts of the machine disclosed without departing from theprinciples of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to belimited excepting by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. Mechanism comprising separate, aligned parts simultaneouslyreciprocable in opposite directions and meansfor operating said partsincluding a rotatable shaft, connecting rods operable by said shaft andoperatively connected to said parts, said parts being disposed at thesame side of a plane passing through the. axis of the shaft and normalto the axis of reciprocation of said parts, the connection between oneofthe rods and one of said parts including, a reciprocable shaftdisposed at the side of said plane at which said parts are disposed, andthe connection between the other rod and an extension of the other partincluding a sleeve surrounding said reciprocable shaft and connected toparts disposed at the other side of said plane at the same distancetherefrom as said other connection, the arrangement being such thatsymmetry of motion of the parts is obtained.

2. Mechanism comprising separate, aligned parts simultaneouslyreciprocable in opposite directions and means for operating said partsincluding a rotatable shaft, connecting rods operable by said shaft andoperatively connected to said parts, said parts being disposed at thesame side of a plane passing through the axis of the shaft and normal tothe axis of reciprocation of said parts, said rods extending from theshaft at opposite sides of said plane, the motion of the rod which lieson that side of the plane which is opposite the side upon which saidparts are disposed being transmitted to one of said parts through amember extending from said one part to said opposite side of the plane,said parts being connected respectively to said connecting rods by areciprocable shaft and a coaxial reciprocable sleeve.

3. Mechanism comprising separate, aligned parts simultaneouslyreciprocable in opposite directions and means for operating said partsincluding a rotatable shaft, connecting rods operable by said shaft andoperatively connected to said parts, said parts being disposed at thesame side of a plane passing through the axis of the shaft and normal tothe axis of reciprocation of said parts, said rods extending from theshaft at opposite sides of said plane, the motion of the rod which lieson that side of the plane which is opposite the side upon which saidparts are disposed being transmitted to' one of said parts through amember extending from said one part to said opposite side of the planeand straddling said shaft, said parts being connected respectively tosaid connecting rods by a reciprocable shaft and a coaxial reciprocablesleeve.

4. Mechanism comprising a rotatable drive shaft, oppositely disposedeccentrics on said shaft, a guide member on said shaft between saideccentrics, a reciprocable yoke surrounding said shaft and having aguiding bearing on said guide'member, connecting rods reciprocated bysaid eccentrics, oppositely reciprocable parts. driving connections fromsaid connecting rods to said parts, one of said connections includingsaid yoke.

5. Mechanism comprising a rotatable drive shaft, oppositely disposedeccentrics on said shaft, a guide block loosely bearing on said shaftbetween said eccentrics, a reciprocable yoke surrounding said shaft andhaving a guiding bearing on said guide block, connecting rodsreciprocated by said eccentrics, oppositely reciprocable parts, drivingconnections from said connecting rods to said parts, one of saidconnections including said yoke.

6. Mechanism comprising a rotatable drive shaft, oppositely disposedeccentrics on' said shaft, a guide split block loosely bearing on saidshaft between said eccentrics, a reciprocable yoke surrounding saidshaft and having a guiding bearing on said guide block, connecting rodsreciprocated by said eccentrics, oppositely re-' oiprocable parts,driving connections from said connecting rods tosaid parts, one of saidconnections including said yoke.

- GEORGE KUHN.

